Bentonville in familiar place

The Lady Tigers will make the program’s sixth consecutive state championship game appearance, but Coach Kent Early said the success of the program has not caused his players to be complacent.

Early said this year’s team has a competitive nature, which has been a driving force behind the team’s 23-3 record. All three losses have been to nationally ranked Benton.

“They show up and work hard every day,” said Early. “They do everything that we ask them to do. And they are pretty focused.”

The Lady Tigers tore through the first two rounds of the 6A state softball tournament, outscoring North Little Rock and Bryant by a combined 24-7. They went 14-0 in the 6A-West Conference.

Bentonville will take on Cabot at 7 p.m. today in Benton for the state championship. The Lady Tigers are seeking the program’s fifth state championship since 2016. The lone blemish on the title run was a 5-3 loss to Cabot in 2019.

The Lady Tigers have a potent offense with .398 team batting average and 40 home runs. Bentonville has six players batting over .400 with a minimum of 40 atbats, and three players with seven or more home runs.

“These players want to keep this tradition going,” said Early when asked what drives this team. “It’s hard, honestly. It’s hard because there’s expectations. And some people can handle it and some people can’t. The reality of the situation is, you’re coming into a successful program, and if this thing’s going to keep going, then you need to keep evolving as a program and continue to get better. And they’ve accepted that challenge.”